Would love any advice
Double Post...Please post responses Here
I sent the following letter to camping world in 2013. I never got a reply and my parents 5th wheel is still leaking. I will take any help I can get.I know it is very long but i am hoping someone out there can avoid the same issue.
Date: Wed, 15 May 2013 10:59:03 -0500
Dear Camping World,
I am writing this email in hopes that somehow you will learn something from what my family has been put through so you can hopefully make sure that another person or family does not have to go through the same ordeal.
The nightmare, as we have begun to call it, all began on December 21, 2012. My 38ft landmark fifth wheel had been flooded due to the fact that the sewer holding tank flush line had inadvertently been turned on, which in turn, over pressured the sewer tank causing sewage to back flow through the toilet and onto the floor of the coach. This also caused the sewer connection to the drain line to rupture which flooded the underbelly of the trailer, shorting out the converter and the transfer switch and filling the underbelly of the trailer with raw sewage.
On January 1st of this year I called the Raleigh, NC store and made an appointment to bring in my trailer later that day for the repair work. When I arrived at the store I was greeted by one of the members of the service team and a walk through of the trailer was performed. I stated to him what happened and what caused it and the issues I knew it caused. Something to note is, when the trailer was sitting on the lot with the front end lifted water was running out from the black covering underneath the trailer which is directly under the sewer tank. I was told at this time that there should be no problem having the trailer back by the end of the month, depending on parts.
I finally received the estimate of the work, which I have attached to this email, on January 17th of this year. At that time the Raleigh store was given permission to start work. During the time it was on the lot I requested that the water lines be winterized due to the cold temperatures we were experiencing. Over the course of the next two months, I was assured that when I received the trailer back it would be as good as new. The repairs were finally completed the week of March 21st.
During the time the trailer was being repaired it was sold to my parents Dale and Brenda May. On March 21st my mom and dad, who are both in their sixties, picked the trailer up and gave the Raleigh store the 500 dollar deductible which they received from me and they were assured, just as I was, that everything had been taking care of and that the trailer was good as new.
My parents left and pulled the trailer to Charlotte where they stayed for a couple of days. During their stay they noticed some liquid dripping from the underbelly of the trailer (this was the same spot as before). They tried to assess where the liquid was coming from but they could not find the source of the leak at that time.
When my parents left NC the next day they pulled the trailer to Livingston, AL where they live. When they started setting up the trailer, they once again noticed the liquid dripping from under the trailer. At this time the inside of the trailer had also begun to have a very strong odor. The following day my father proceeded to take the underbelly cover off of the trailer. When he did this raw sewage started flowing out. I have attached a picture of what was left in the underbelly of the trailer after the first 4,700.00 dollars in repair work. At this time my mother called the Raleigh store and told them of the issue and it was stated by them that they would have noticed a leak when they winterized the trailer and that they were never told that the sewage tank had been over filled. You can see from the estimate that they replaced pipe fittings and steam cleaned the carpet. Why would this need to be done if the tank had never been over filled?
My mother was told that they could bring the trailer back to Raleigh and they could fix it. My mother stated that Raleigh was a 12 hour drive and that was unacceptable. She was told that they would find a closer place for them to bring it and my parents stated that Camping World needed to arrange for transportation of the trailer to the Calera, AL store. Transportation was arranged and the trailer was picked up around April 6th to begin the repair work.
The Calera Al store got the trailer into the shop and upon initial investigation discovered the leak where the tank connected to the sewer line and upon further investigation discovered the tank had been ruptured. My parents were told at this time that there was no way that the Raleigh store could have pressure tested the system with the leaks that were discovered and that they had not even pulled the underbelly over to pressure clean the raw sewage.
Over the next 3 weeks my parents patiently waited and once again they received the call that the trailer was ready and good as new. When my parents arrived they were greeted by another 5 hour wait while the shop did some last minute checks on the sewage system. The repair technician completed his work and came inside the store to talk with my parents. He stated to them that the underbelly really needed to be replaced but that the Raleigh store refused to pay for it and that the Calera store could not pay for it either. My mother voiced here disappointment with this but was told there was nothing that could be done about it. So once again they picked up the trailer after the next 4050.00 dollar payment by my insurance company and they were again reassured that the trailer minus the underbelly cover that needed to be replaced was as good as new.
So my parents pulled the trailer back to their home in Livingston, AL and finally moved into it on May 9th. After two days in the trailer they noticed a bad smell and once again the trailer was leaking from the same spot on the underbelly. My father once again pulled the now soaked again underbelly cover off and found yet another leak. At this time my mother called the Calera store and told the service manager that this was unacceptable and somebody needed to get this fixed. She was greeted with the same sentence that if they could bring it back to the Calera store they would take a look at it. My mother stated this was not acceptable and that the Calera store was a four hour drive. The service manager said he would send someone to them the next day. So yesterday, May 14th, a service technician showed up and upon his investigation found that the tank to toilet connection should have had four bolts installed when the new tank was put in but it only had two, which ruined the gasket and a new gasket would have to be put on. He stated he did not have this gasket with him and someone would have to come back today, May 15th, and fix it. This is where it stands as of 11:10 AM they are still waiting to move into the home they bought from their son so they could travel and enjoy retirement. This is not what retirement is suppose to be like for them. They have been living in hotels and at their daughter's house because of the quality of service we have received from Camping World.
So to sum up my e-mail, we have two separate stores in two different districts that have provided the same unacceptable quality of service. Like I said when I started this email off of, I am writing this e-mail in hopes that somehow you will learn something from what my family has been put through, so you can hopefully make sure that another person or family does not have to go through the same ordeal. My parents never asked for any of this and it disgusts me to think how my parents, myself and State Farm Insurance Company have been taken advantage of by a company that is suppose to make travel an enjoyable experience.
I sent the following letter to camping world in 2013. I never got a reply and my parents 5th wheel is still leaking. I will take any help I can get.I know it is very long but i am hoping someone out there can avoid the same issue.
Date: Wed, 15 May 2013 10:59:03 -0500
Dear Camping World,
I am writing this email in hopes that somehow you will learn something from what my family has been put through so you can hopefully make sure that another person or family does not have to go through the same ordeal.
The nightmare, as we have begun to call it, all began on December 21, 2012. My 38ft landmark fifth wheel had been flooded due to the fact that the sewer holding tank flush line had inadvertently been turned on, which in turn, over pressured the sewer tank causing sewage to back flow through the toilet and onto the floor of the coach. This also caused the sewer connection to the drain line to rupture which flooded the underbelly of the trailer, shorting out the converter and the transfer switch and filling the underbelly of the trailer with raw sewage.
On January 1st of this year I called the Raleigh, NC store and made an appointment to bring in my trailer later that day for the repair work. When I arrived at the store I was greeted by one of the members of the service team and a walk through of the trailer was performed. I stated to him what happened and what caused it and the issues I knew it caused. Something to note is, when the trailer was sitting on the lot with the front end lifted water was running out from the black covering underneath the trailer which is directly under the sewer tank. I was told at this time that there should be no problem having the trailer back by the end of the month, depending on parts.
I finally received the estimate of the work, which I have attached to this email, on January 17th of this year. At that time the Raleigh store was given permission to start work. During the time it was on the lot I requested that the water lines be winterized due to the cold temperatures we were experiencing. Over the course of the next two months, I was assured that when I received the trailer back it would be as good as new. The repairs were finally completed the week of March 21st.
During the time the trailer was being repaired it was sold to my parents Dale and Brenda May. On March 21st my mom and dad, who are both in their sixties, picked the trailer up and gave the Raleigh store the 500 dollar deductible which they received from me and they were assured, just as I was, that everything had been taking care of and that the trailer was good as new.
My parents left and pulled the trailer to Charlotte where they stayed for a couple of days. During their stay they noticed some liquid dripping from the underbelly of the trailer (this was the same spot as before). They tried to assess where the liquid was coming from but they could not find the source of the leak at that time.
When my parents left NC the next day they pulled the trailer to Livingston, AL where they live. When they started setting up the trailer, they once again noticed the liquid dripping from under the trailer. At this time the inside of the trailer had also begun to have a very strong odor. The following day my father proceeded to take the underbelly cover off of the trailer. When he did this raw sewage started flowing out. I have attached a picture of what was left in the underbelly of the trailer after the first 4,700.00 dollars in repair work. At this time my mother called the Raleigh store and told them of the issue and it was stated by them that they would have noticed a leak when they winterized the trailer and that they were never told that the sewage tank had been over filled. You can see from the estimate that they replaced pipe fittings and steam cleaned the carpet. Why would this need to be done if the tank had never been over filled?
My mother was told that they could bring the trailer back to Raleigh and they could fix it. My mother stated that Raleigh was a 12 hour drive and that was unacceptable. She was told that they would find a closer place for them to bring it and my parents stated that Camping World needed to arrange for transportation of the trailer to the Calera, AL store. Transportation was arranged and the trailer was picked up around April 6th to begin the repair work.
The Calera Al store got the trailer into the shop and upon initial investigation discovered the leak where the tank connected to the sewer line and upon further investigation discovered the tank had been ruptured. My parents were told at this time that there was no way that the Raleigh store could have pressure tested the system with the leaks that were discovered and that they had not even pulled the underbelly over to pressure clean the raw sewage.
Over the next 3 weeks my parents patiently waited and once again they received the call that the trailer was ready and good as new. When my parents arrived they were greeted by another 5 hour wait while the shop did some last minute checks on the sewage system. The repair technician completed his work and came inside the store to talk with my parents. He stated to them that the underbelly really needed to be replaced but that the Raleigh store refused to pay for it and that the Calera store could not pay for it either. My mother voiced here disappointment with this but was told there was nothing that could be done about it. So once again they picked up the trailer after the next 4050.00 dollar payment by my insurance company and they were again reassured that the trailer minus the underbelly cover that needed to be replaced was as good as new.
So my parents pulled the trailer back to their home in Livingston, AL and finally moved into it on May 9th. After two days in the trailer they noticed a bad smell and once again the trailer was leaking from the same spot on the underbelly. My father once again pulled the now soaked again underbelly cover off and found yet another leak. At this time my mother called the Calera store and told the service manager that this was unacceptable and somebody needed to get this fixed. She was greeted with the same sentence that if they could bring it back to the Calera store they would take a look at it. My mother stated this was not acceptable and that the Calera store was a four hour drive. The service manager said he would send someone to them the next day. So yesterday, May 14th, a service technician showed up and upon his investigation found that the tank to toilet connection should have had four bolts installed when the new tank was put in but it only had two, which ruined the gasket and a new gasket would have to be put on. He stated he did not have this gasket with him and someone would have to come back today, May 15th, and fix it. This is where it stands as of 11:10 AM they are still waiting to move into the home they bought from their son so they could travel and enjoy retirement. This is not what retirement is suppose to be like for them. They have been living in hotels and at their daughter's house because of the quality of service we have received from Camping World.
So to sum up my e-mail, we have two separate stores in two different districts that have provided the same unacceptable quality of service. Like I said when I started this email off of, I am writing this e-mail in hopes that somehow you will learn something from what my family has been put through, so you can hopefully make sure that another person or family does not have to go through the same ordeal. My parents never asked for any of this and it disgusts me to think how my parents, myself and State Farm Insurance Company have been taken advantage of by a company that is suppose to make travel an enjoyable experience.
